Sentient Puppets
by Seldavia
Summary: HW. An AU story where Cia's kidnap plan works, rather than being foiled by the Power of Friendship. There's more to this being than meets the eye, as there is more to Ganondorf than Demise's hatred and Zelda than Hylia's legacy.


Zelda neatly parried the thrust of an undead soldier, casting her gaze about and settling it on her guardian. "Impa, where is Link?"

"I haven't seen him, Your Highness," Impa held up her broadsword to shield them both as another undead brought both axe and sword ringing down upon them. "He has been moving much faster than the rest of us in capturing the enchanted rooms."

Zelda's hair began to tease its way out of her elaborate battle crown. Little drops of sweat made their way under her steaming head and down her neck, chilling her spine. "I need someone to follow him, Impa. We can't afford to lose him."

"I know." Impa felled several Moblins with one swipe. Both could see the problem was not so much the strength of their enemy, but their numbers. "I fear he has gotten overconfident."

"He may be looking for the source of all this chaos. He is likely heading for Cia."

"I can't sense her in this mess. She's done a good job of masking her magic signature with her monsters."

Zelda searched frantically for another ally in the undulating swamp of mindless monsers. "Lana!" she called out to the girl crushing her adversaries with conjured blocks of glass. "This is your home too, is it not? Do you know where Cia would be hiding? Link may be there already!"

"I think so!" the girl shouted back in her high, reedy voice. For some reason Zelda could not help but flinch whenever she heard it. "I'll find him!"

Lana bolted off through the maelstrom of whirring blades and burning magic. "Shall I follow her?" Impa asked. "Or there may be others in our group in need of assistance..."

Zelda opened her mouth to reply, but a strange feeling overcame her. Her Inner Eye turned black, as if someone had draped it with a cloth, and despite the heat of battle she suddenly felt bitter cold.

She felt someone shaking her out of a trance."Your Highness! Are you all right?"

"Impa, stay with me," Zelda ordered, a slight tremble in her voice. "There is something here...an overwhelmingly evil presence..."

"Just now?" Impa reduced a Poe to rags and dust. "I can sense nothing...what could be here that I cannot see?"

"I'm not sure," Zelda said as she cut down a foe that popped up in front of her, knuckles white around the hilt of her sword. The feeling was not familiar to her, but the mark on the back of her hand apparently knew it well. "I don't know, but I think it might be..."

* * *

Lana knew immediately where Cia had to be. The same room where the two of them, while still one, had spent many hours hanging and admiring the numerous paintings of the various Links throughout the years. She dodged monsters instead of fighting them, and they didn't seem inclined to follow her. Perhaps her right to this home still gave her some control over the magics worked within it.

She could see Link inside the room, holding his own against hordes of monsters. Or at least so it seemed; as she got closer, Lana could see the creatures deliberately stepping back. She increased her speed, and managed to slip through the doors just as they slammed shut.

"It's a trap!" Proxi cried, in case they couldn't figure it out for themselves. Link turned to Lana, his face showing his puzzlement and a little apprehension.

"Hmph. You won't let me have anything for myself, will you, Lana?" Cia appeared from one corner, scowling. But the moment she set eyes on Link, her expression brightened immensely. She sashayed across the room like a model on a catwalk, drawing her hand upward to accentuate her hips and breasts.

If this was meant to impress Link, it didn't work. His confusion and apprehension increased tenfold.

Cia didn't seem to notice. "Pride and hubris...the darkness within you will consume you if you're not careful." She aimed her staff at Link, and a bolt of magic shot forth, piercing his shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and fell to one knee.

Lana ran to his side. "What are you doing?!" she demanded of Cia, incredulous. "If you want him, why did you hurt him?" Neither she nor Link noticed the growing shadow behind him as Lana helped Link to his feet.

"I want to watch him fight!" Cia stated decisively, and disappeared from sight.

"Fight what?" Proxi demanded, as the remaining two looked around. Lana glanced behind them and made a yelp of fright.

Four shadowy figures stood there, staring back with glowing red eyes. Each one was a picture-perfect copy of Link.

For his part, Link treated these other selves like any other enemy. He launched forward, chopping downward. The Dark creature he attacked merely threw up his shield.

"They're not ordinary shadows!" Proxi's voice sounded even shriller as Link fought to block their charges.

Lana unleashed a flurry of magic onto the shadows, but they seemed completely indifferent to her, focusing all of their energy on Link. For his part, Link fought all four skillfully, but Lana could see his face turning red from exertion.

* * *

Ganondorf arrived at the Seers' home with only a handful of minions. This would be a grab-and-run mission. He scrutinized the hallways carefully, remaining out of sight of the allied forces as much as possible. Only three of the people gathered here had what he wanted, and two of them had the power to direct all their resources upon him if he showed himself too soon. In particular he avoided the summoned champions of other ages, knowing they had seen him defeated once already, earlier in their lifetimes.

He still burned with humiliation from the last confrontation. The plan had been so simple; store the Triforce in a vessel of his choosing, then take it once there was enough of him to have a complete form. The supposedly all-knowing Seer had been a fool, becoming obsessed when she should have stayed neutral. It had been easy enough to plant a seed of darkness within such childish antagonism.

And yet, this product of a simple schoolgirl's crush had snatched the Triforce from him. And that baffled and worried him more than he let on.

Finally, in one of the inner courtyards, he found what he had been looking for. The Bearer of Wisdom stood alone, her Shekiah guardian busy tackling a series of large monsters at once. Fighting Impa and Zelda both would be difficult, but less so than the Hero or a Power-carrying, deluded Seer. He spoke a few words of sorcery, and noted with satisfaction the look of surprise and fear on Zelda's face as she suddenly could no longer move.

* * *

Zelda could feel a hidden terror stalking her, but from which direction she could not determine. Should she run and risk bolting straight into it? Certainly it would find her if she stayed in one place. She turned to Impa to order her forward, but her heart leaped into her throat as a tingling sensation ran through one hand.

Her Triforce was resonating. It wasn't Link. It wasn't Cia. Combined with this feeling of dread, it could only mean...

Suddenly the curtains parted, and she could see the danger just off to the side. She turned to run...and found herself frozen in place.

"Impa!" she called out in panic. "I can't move!"

The Shekiah bolted quicker than sight and placed herself between Zelda and an enormous man, one Zelda had never seen before but recognized immediately. "You will not touch Her Highness!"

"If you know who I am, shadow-walker, then you know you can't stand against me," Ganondorf countered. He blocked her downward chop easily. "I'm here to take what's mine."

* * *

Link had long ago defeated the four dark shadows, but more of them kept popping up. Still the doors remained closed. Lana could open them for herself, but if he tried to follow, they slammed closed. Did he really have that much "darkness" within him? Was this supposed to be a test of some kind? He panted audibly now, worn out trying to compensate for the weakness in his arm that Cia's magic had caused. If only he'd been more alert!

"Link, are you okay?" the little fairy asked, her voice small and scared. He fought the impulse to nod, to tell her everything was fine, to shoulder this burden himself. A warning sounded in the back of his mind, telling him that this time he was in serious trouble.

He shook his head, ever so slightly, never taking his eyes off the dark doppelganger.

"Link needs help!" Proxi broadcast to Lana, ending any hope of hiding his weakness. Link found himself wishing he could tell her off.

"I'll get more help, Link!" Lana called out, and bolted out the doors. He wasn't sure she could get back in again, but they were running out of options.

Link turned back to his shadowy adversaries. Did this Cia really spark an entire war just to watch him fight? Or maybe she was testing out these doubles on him? They certainly looked identical, and their fighting style was just the same. Really the only difference between them was that he had healing potion and they didn't.

Or used to have healing potion. Now all his bottles were empty. And Cia could just conjure up more doubles.

One of the Dark Links brought its sword down hard upon his shield arm. Link stumbled back and raised his sword to block the second strike.

"Getting tired?" Cia appeared in the corner of his vision with a lilting laugh. "Maybe you should just surrender."

"Link will never surrender to the likes of you!" Proxi snapped. Link didn't disagree, but it wasn't a matter of the pride or anger that came out so strongly in Proxi's voice. He simply didn't believe that she would let Zelda and the rest of the troops walk out without a fight. Hero or not, he was still a knight in Zelda's army.

"But you have to surrender!" Link turned toward Cia as her voice rose an octave, thinning slightly. "You have to surrender, or I'll have to kill you!"

"What do you want?" Proxi demanded. "Why are you hurting Link if you've been searching for him? And if you do want to kill him, why not just do it yourself?"

"I-I don't want to kill him!" Cia's voice reached a shriek. "I don't want to kill him!" The Dark Links faded and disappeared.

Just as Link began to catch his breath, Cia's eyes narrowed, and her voice dropped back into the depths. "But I hate him. I hate him!"

"What?" Proxi demanded, as Cia raised her staff, and just as quickly lowered it again.

Cia acted as if she hadn't heard. "If I can't have him, no one will!" She raised her staff again, this time holding it like a club. "I hate him, but I can't kill him!"

Link raised his shield a moment too late. The staff caught him on the side of the head, throwing him to the ground and knocking him out.

* * *

Zelda could feel Impa weakening in front her, like a door about to splinter, as Ganondorf pounded on the giant sword Impa held to protect them both. She pushed and pulled with all her might, using both muscle and magic power, but Ganondorf's spell still held her rooted to the ground.

Suddenly she heard shouts, and to the side she could see Lana entering the courtyard with the other champions behind her. "Princess Zelda, Impa, Link needs-oh!"

She drew up short at the sight of Ganondorf, who stepped back and regarded this new threat with narrowed eyes. "It's you!" Midna snarled. "What are you doing here?"

Before anyone could answer, Zelda felt a sudden void open up. Two voids, one swallowing the other. The first came from Cia and the magic that had spawned her monsters.

The second came from Link.

"They're gone!" Zelda exclaimed before she could fully process this information. "They're both gone – Cia as well as Link! She must have taken him somewhere!"

She saw Ganondorf's gaze flit from her to the rest of the fighters, hard golden eyes contemplating the possibilities. Then he, too, disappeared, and the rest of the monsters with him.

Zelda's army stood alone in the forsaken enemy's battleground.


End file.
